Montana Company Aims to Make Plant Refurbishment More Affordable

In the pursuit of cost-effective solutions to an aging wastewater treatment infrastructure in a wavering economy, Diversified Plastics Inc. has developed MultiFab Technology for sprocket production, a proprietary process that aims to create high-performing parts at a low cost.

“Diversified Plastics is one of the few manufacturers in the industry who offers a full range of fabrication processes—machining, casting, injection molding and vacuum forming—under one roof,” said Brad Reid, Diversified Plastics president and CEO. “Our MultiFab innovation enables us to combine these processes and multiple resins to create a single wastewater sprocket with optimum performance characteristics for each component.”

A MultiFab drive sprocket for a grit collector, for example, might have a hard plastic polyurethane or nylon bore and keyway for maximum load and torsion strength. That component would be molded or machined. The sprocket’s teeth would then be injection molded of a more abrasion-resistant UHMW, which has better wear properties than harder resins, the company said. The components are then fused together to create a single, solid sprocket.

“MultiFab is a significant innovation. It reduces labor hours and material waste, while resulting in parts that deliver superior performance,” Reid said.

MultiFab also includes the ability to custom-fabricate sprockets to exacting specifications and the lower cost of shipping as compared with the traditional cast metal sprockets common to many wastewater facilities.

“With MultiFab Technology, we believe we’ve kind of reinvented the wheel for wastewater treatment,” Reid said. “We’re excited about the role this process can play in modernizing wastewater facilities nationwide.”